Conditioning shampoo - Chemists Corner

Formulating

Conditioning shampoo

Posted by heraklit on July 16, 2014 at 4:41 pm

Hello to everyone and congrats for your wonderful site & forum.
May i ask a question? I want to add a little conditioning note to my shampoo. I tried to add 0.5 - 2% cetearyl alcohol and behentrimonium
chloride (incroquat behenyl tmc 25 - because as i know it doesn’t cause “build up”) at my shampoo with decyl, lauryl,
coco glucosides, CAB, and italian Olivoil surfactant (surfactants in total 15 - 19%), with other usual
ingredients: glycerin, panthenol, olive oil, oat, honey, citrus oils.
Τhe result was the opposite of that expected. Hair became more tangling and more static than the same shampoo without incroquat. Do you have an idea what happened? May behentrimonium chloride is not for rinse off shampoos but only for conditioning creams? Any suggestion? (I don’t want film forming or build up products)
Thank you,
Heraklit

heraklit replied 10 years, 5 months ago 5 Members · 9 Replies
9 Replies

DavidW

Member
July 16, 2014 at 10:40 pm

Try using polyquaternium 10 at about 0.5% instead of the Incroquat. See how you like it. maybe also add something similar to Jeesilc 94 (Amodimethicone and Trideceth-12 and Cetrimonium Chloride) at 2 to 4%. First try polquat alone or Jeesilc alone so you can see the difference.
nasrins

Member
July 17, 2014 at 3:35 am

I use poly 10 in my shampoo and I have problem with tangling …I think poly 10 has the problem of build up too…
heraklit

Member
July 17, 2014 at 11:20 am

Thank you for your replies!
Bobzchemist

Member
July 17, 2014 at 11:47 am

Also take note of pH. Bringing the pH of hair above 5.5 will cause the hair shaft to swell, in turn causing the hair cuticle to open, which makes hair feel rough and static-y, and makes it more difficult to de-tangle. Bringing the pH level of the hair below 4.5 will cause each shaft hair to contract, causing the cuticle to close, making it feel and act smoother, easier to de-tangle.

Do not ever go below pH 3, however.
heraklit

Member
July 17, 2014 at 4:47 pm

Thank you Bobzchemist. My pH is 5. I’ll try to bring it down to 4 - 4.5.
Chemist77

Member
July 18, 2014 at 7:45 am

But we never got to know the nature of your formula though.
nasrins

Member
July 19, 2014 at 5:36 am

thanks bob, its a good point…
nasrins

Member
July 20, 2014 at 4:46 am

Bob does it work for hair masks too? is it better to make a hair mask with pH lower than 4.5?
heraklit

Member
July 23, 2014 at 12:51 pm

I decide to try another conditioning “natural” agent “Plantasil micro” INCI: Dicaprylyl Ether (and) Decyl Glucoside (and) Glyceryl Oleate. Has anyone an experience on this?